Posts Tagged ‘melanotan’

With so many people asking about Melanotan, aka afamelanotide, we thought it was time to revisit and see whether things had developed with them. Basically, to fill you in, Melanotan is a product that is being developed by an Australian company named Clinuvel, and when legal, will be available as a skin implant and injection. The effects of melanotan are increased tan without the need for cancer-causing sunlight.

What must be remembered though is that the sunless tanner is being developed for health reasons, rather than for vanity. Melanotan is not an alternative for Dove Summer Glow or St Tropez spray tans.

Melanotan, in a nutshell, will stimulate the melanocytes that lie in the deeper layers of the skin, which are natural components of the body. Melanocytes naturally produce melanin in reaction to the sun’s harmful rays to protect skin cells and prevent people from getting skin cancer; melanin is what gives you a tan. Melanocytes in darker skin produce more melanin, and so when melanotan is used in fairer skinned people, more melanin can be produced than would be naturally, offering heightened protection against UV rays. Cancer Research has given a good overview of Melanotan.

It’s understandable how people who aren’t at high risk from skin cancer might be interested in this so called ‘fantasy drug’, afterall Melanotan could provide you with an all year round tan, but don’t think it is not without its side effects. As with anything, Melanotan can have certain effects on people that i’m sure you would rather not happen, such as nausea, loss of appetite, weightloss, darkening of moles and freckles, facial flushing and sexual problems. As with any medicine, side effects would vary from person to person, but it’s something to bear in mind.

Of course the most important thing – the sale and/or advertising of Melanotan is currently ILLEGAL, so it isn’t (or shouldn’t) be available for the general public yet. We can’t stress enough how dangerous it is to use products that are still going through extensive trials and are not yet certfied as safe. We urge people to wait until Clinuvel have finished their tests and trials with this product before anyone steams in there without thinking. UK regulation of this industry is already laid back, which is why we have to look out for ourselves and be sensible about these things.

In the meantime, stick to the sun – within reason – use plenty of high factor SPF lotionwhen sunbathing, or go back to the bottle or spray tan. Just until we know for certain that this safe! Keep checking back here for updates!

OK so our readers will know that we’ve posted a couple of times on here about Melanotan – and for those who don’t know what this is, it’s injectable tans. Now they might on first glance look like a wholly unnatural way of getting a tan, maybe you think it’s vanity gone mad? It has been labelled by some as the Barbie Drug, however if you take a look at the Pale Girls Guide and watch the YouTube video embedded on her blog, you’ll see that the researchers may be onto something a lot deeper than just plain vanity and there may be a key health breakthrough in there.

Every summer we are warned about dangers of the sun’s UV rays and how to avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm, wear a sun hat, slap on factor zillion etc. Well, Melanotan might save thousands from skin cancer because the injected substance causes the body to release more melanin, which is usually released by the body once the skin has been damaged, i.e. sunburn, to protect it from burning again.

As we’ve said before, the injections must must must be rigorously tested before the general public can feel confident that it won’t affect them in some obscure way. Every drug has side effects. Epitan, the guys in the YouTube video above, aim to actively sell the product in three years time. It could be a breakthrough. We’ll definitely be following the progress of Melanotan because we know there are so many people who are just as curious as us!

We wrote a post on here a few weeks ago about the availability of tan injections called Melanotan. We have since seen a surge of people searching for these injections on Google and the like and most of them seemed to enquire about the safety of them. So we’re here to give you even more info on whether you should go ahead and inject yourself with these chemicals.

Firstly, in my opinion, the sheer fact that this seems wholly unnatural is enough to steer me away from this product, but to all the tan-fans out there, it may be worth reading this before spending your Christmas money on them.

Unless a tan is real, caught by careful exposure of the skin to the sun, then everyone will know it’s fake anyway! What is the point in risking your health, without knowing about all the dangers and permanent side effects of melanotan? There have even been instances, as you will read at the link above, of people turning too tanned due to the wrong dosage – and it lasts much longer than Dove Summer Glow!

Have you tried melanotan? Would you consider using it once it has gone through more rigorous tests?

A hot topic in the world of skin at the moment is the availability of injectable tans, yes that’s right, tans that you inject – but SkinGenesis would like to warn tan-fans to be cautious if they’re thinking about giving this whirl.

There’s the old beauty ritual of ‘no pain-no gain’, however just because they’re available doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re safe to use. The product is called ‘Melanotan’, however it remains unlicensed and has not undergone the usual rigorous testing that ensures safety and quality.

The Yorkshire Post did a feature on this on Tuesday and commented that the quest for a perfect tan had taken a ‘worrying turn’.

I personally don’t know how anyone can use such products without knowing that their health will be left unscathed. What is the point of risking your wellbeing in the name of vanity, especially when you can get great results out of a bottle? Afterall, tanning creams and bronzers seem the safest way to become a bronzed goddess. UV rays may cause you to develop cancer and the risks of these new injections are simply unknown. One girl in the YP feature had said that she had injected herself twelve times in just three weeks! That’s more or less every other day!

The regulation of cosmetic procedures in Britain and the rest of Europe is fairly lax when compared to that in the USA. It could even be said that we Brits are guinea pigs in new treatments!

Tell us if you have tried this new tanning method, or do you think it’s absolutely ridiculous?